This was far from a classic, never mind a clasico
Given that Liverpool have been transformed from serial winners of yesteryear to Premier League also rans, it’s perhaps understandable that people at the club would seek any and every opportunity to big themselves up but, still, claiming equal participation in “the biggest fixture in the world” is the sort of thing that could put the Sky hype machine out of business.
Real Madrid v Barcelona this wasn’t, although it’s true that history will always add a certain lustre to the meeting of these old rivals. However, despite Liverpool making a game of it in the second half, this was some distance short of a classic, never mind a clasico.
In one sense, however, the fixture did promise a true clash of giants — Robin van Persie versus Luis Suarez, two of the game’s great strikers, even though, again, both have some way to travel to rival Messi v Ronaldo.
In the end, it was van Persie’s day, with Suarez having to play second fiddle in the goalscoring stakes to his new team-mate, Daniel Sturridge.
A goal and an assist confirmed van Persie’s importance to a United side which, especially in the continued absence of Wayne Rooney, clearly needs all the magic he can muster.
The manner in which he created space and then with one touch swept home his team’s first goal, beautifully illustrated the striker’s less is more approach: like all the great players, he makes the business of scoring goals look incredibly simple.
Suarez, by contrast, normally makes a virtue of doing things the hard way, choosing the path of most resistance to goal. As often as not, those eye of the needle incisions end up with the net billowing, which tells you all you need to know about his unique gifts.
But watching Liverpool in the first half yesterday, it was obvious that one practical reason why Suarez so often opts to go it alone is because he simply can’t rely on quality service from his team-mates. Liverpool’s final ball was woefully substandard, with passes overhit and crosses calmly eaten up by the United defence. United, for their part, were not exactly having to try too hard at the other end and, when Evra and Vidic took advantage of terrible marking to combine to put the home side two up, it looked to be game over.
But a sloppiness to United’s play that was never too far below the surface helped throw Liverpool a lifeline, an unusually advanced Steven Gerrard making the most of a loose ball, and when his angled drive was turned back into play by David De Gea, Sturridge was on hand to make the most of the rebound.
Liverpool certainly looked more threatening with two strikers rather than one up top but, though he will have been pleased to see Sturridge open his account, Brendan Rodgers won’t have been so impressed with his wastefulness from promising positions on a couple of other occasions.
But that’s the Liverpool way, these days, the faithful obliged to seek reasons to be cheerful even when they’ve just come off worst against their most bitter rivals.
For United, Alex Ferguson will be concerned that from a position of total domination, his side ended up living on its nerves as Liverpool pressed for an equaliser to reward for their spirited late showing. But, as the final whistle blew, he will also have had reason to give thanks yet again that he opted to dial Arsene Wenger’s number last August to set in train the sequence of events which brought the top Gunner to Old Trafford.
